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Paint the town Orange – Ram Charan Interview November 8, 2010

Action flicks can wait. Ram Charan turns his attention to the colour of hope and love.

Interview by sangeetha devi dundoo for TheHindu

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T he misty morning sky is a picture of blue and muted orange. The view of the city overlooking the calm pool waters from Chiranjeevi’s residence couldn’t be better. Taking in the sight over a cup of filter coffee, Ram Charan says with a smile, “I love to sit here on Diwali evening and see the entire city celebrating with firecrackers. The view is breathtaking, minus the air and noise pollution.”

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Charan is back home after the final shooting schedule for Bhaskar’s Orange in Australia and has a day-long dubbing routine before he can celebrate. “Ever since I started working, I don’t get enough time to enjoy the festival,” he rues.

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All eyes are on him as his next outing, Orange, releases on November 19. Charan is aware that matching up to a roaring hit like Magadheera is no mean task. He is nervous, he admits. “I didn’t see myself doing another action film that can go beyond Magadheera at this point of my career. I had to move away from that genre and do a love story, a serious drama or a documentary.

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An urban, feel-good love story seemed like a safe bet. One of the recent love stories I enjoyed was Bhaskar’s Bommarillu,” says Charan. He laughs recalling how Bhaskar himself was surprised by his decision. “People literally stopped me from going for that meeting and even threatened Bhaskar. But I was sure of what I wanted to do.”

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Orange, co-starring Genelia and Shahzahn Padamsee, is a coming-of-age film. “Until a month ago, even I wasn’t sure of what the colour orange had to do with my film,” laughs Charan. He adds, “Looking at it from another level, the colour stands for hope. The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again. Love stories thrive on hope. Life is one big love story with hundreds of little love stories within it.”

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Charan knows he has to strike a balance between commerce and art and wonders why not many established stars take up feel-good love stories. “Nagarjuna is an exception. Geetanjali and Ninne Pelladuta are some of his finest movies apart from Shiva. Love stories are timeless. None of the top heroes have taken up love stories barring Pawan Kalyan in Khushi and Naga Chaitanya in Ye Maya Chesave,” he points out.

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Orange, shot in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Australia, is not a ‘massy’ entertainer, he insists: “The theme is universal but the treatment is urban.” He assures that the film won’t present a touristy image of Australia and instead take us into coffee shops, alleys and little things that form a part of day-to-day life. “My character is like Ayn Rand. I am a graffiti artist and will not budge from what I believe in.” Quarter life crisis is dealt with a touch of comedy, he adds.

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He is glad to be home: “I prefer shooting in India any day. When you shoot abroad, you work against time with just a couple of hours break. There is no time to shop even when you are shooting in the midst of shopping malls; there is no time for tantrums; you are focussed on work 24/7.”

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After Orange, Charan will begin his next film, Merupu, to be directed by Tamil director Dharani, from November 20. “Dharani has a pulse on what people want and his films are unapologetic entertainers. Merupu is a sports film with focus on match fixing in football and analyses why the game has not become popular in India,” reveals Charan. The actor is learning to play football with the help of a coach from Australia. “It’s a strenuous game,” he says.

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Meanwhile, talks are on for the Hindi film, Welcome to the Jungle. “We are in the discussion stages. Unless it is really exciting I won’t take up a Hindi film. The wider canvas is good but I am not looking for more fame and money. I don’t want to lose my privacy. I like being an ordinary guy and being unrecognised when I go to coffee shops in cities like Delhi,” he says.

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Talk about the Hindi remake of Magadheera and he concedes, “We don’t know how things will shape up. Producers like Boney Kapoor have asked me to do the same role in Hindi. I am not sure if Magadheera will be the same with a different team.” Bollywood biggies are also vying to remake the film. “Aamir loved the movie and is taking time to see if he can fit into the role. I learnt that Shahid too is interested. Let’s see…”

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Charan’s immediate focus is on promoting Orange after a vacation in London. “We will be reaching out to youngsters through rock concerts in Hyderabad and Vizag,” he says.

It’s probably just the unexciting stills. The romance/chemistry looks non existent between RC and Genelia. Maybe high expectation from Charan after Magadheera. Song promos do give me some hope and I do really like both Bomarillu and Parugu. Let’s see.